Sauber update should deliver 'major' step

Sauber says the update package it will introduce at the Austrian and British Grands Prix should deliver a 'major' step forward that could make it a regular midfield runner.

The Swiss outfit's 2017 F1 challenger is short of downforce compared to its rivals, and the team has been working on revamping its C36.

Team principal Monisha Kaltenborn said while Sauber - which is committed to running year-old Ferrari engines this season - was currently slower than it hoped to be, it was targeting a move into the midfield with the expected introduction of updates for Austria and Britain.

"The car is not where it should be, and the technical team now has to improve its competitiveness," she explained.

"That is the clear goal.

"They know that, and it is now for them to try to already take the next step with the package we want to bring around Silverstone and Spielberg.

"There will be a bit of it in Spielberg, and then Silverstone and Budapest, so that should be a major step.

"It [the midfield] has to be our target.

"We have not set any hard and fast positions there, because there has not been enough time to seriously look at that, but that is where we want to be.

"Our target still remains that we want to go into the midfield and we see how far we can get.

"It is a challenge to our technical team and they are taking up the challenge, and now they have to show that they can master it."

Although the team is currently ninth in the constructors' championship, thanks to Pascal Wehrlein's eighth-place finish at the Spanish GP, it has fallen away from the opposition on ultimate pace in the last two races.

Kaltenborn said while development of its C36 was hurt last year by a financial crisis before an investment deal with backers Longbow Finance, the team now had the resources it needed to make necessary development parts.

"It takes some time until the processes start working again," she added.

"That doesn't happen overnight - even if you have been very long in the sport.

"But I understand if it has taken a while.

"We were not spot on there right at the beginning, but if you look at the aero side, aero has been where the issues were and we do have not a bad wind tunnel I would say.